The CCHI program is by definition focused on human immunology, and thus it is vital to support basic and translational researchers who are eager to apply their expertise and ideas to this area of research. However, human studies are generally much more difficult to carry out than those in model organisms for many reasons, including access to appropriate populations of subjects, limited ability to harvest tissue, genetic heterogeneity, limits to appropriate experimental designs, etc. In addition, the competition for limited extramural funding is extremely intense, and applications without significant preliminary data rarely receive fundable scores. For these reasons, it is extremely valuable for investigators at Stanford interested in pursuing research in human immunology to have access to seed grants for pilot projects focused in this area. In addition, the support of the Stanford CCHI, both in terms of the provided infrastructure and in terms of the extensive experience of the Project Leaders in this proposal, will provide a highly significant boost to the efforts of awardees and greatly increase their chances of success. The purpose of the Pilot Projects Core is to support investigators new to human immunology studies or with novel ideas or technologies to be applied to human immunological questions. These small grants will provide funds to obtain pilot data as a foundation for subsequent application for extramural funding. The specific aims of this Core are: 1. To solicit proposals on an annual basis in the Stanford research community for pilot projects related to human immunology. 2. To review these proposals and to award seed grants for 1-3 projects/year. 3. To provide infrastructure support for the Pilot Projects during the award period, including ensuring compliance with all applicable Federal regulations, policies, and guidelines for research involving human subjects. 4. To monitor the progress of the Pilot Projects and the overall success of the program by tracking publications and extramural funding obtained on the basis of Pilot Project support.